The book of time
by Eiraya
Summary: What was supposed to be a regular and boring mission turned out to be one of the most dangerous challenge they ever had to face. How will they deal with it ? And how their relationship will be affected ? Nalu fanfic. (I'm so bad at summary sorry...) Rated M for language, future violent scene & sexual content.
1. Chapter 1 - Help me !

**Author's Note: Hi everyone ! This is my first fanfiction on this site, and my first in english ! I tried my best to provide the most accurate scenes with the best grammar and vocabulary I could :) Practising english can be tedious but it was a lot of fun to write, so I hope you'll enjoy this story ! And don't hesitate to tell me if you notice any mistakes !**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own fairy tail, Mashima-sensei does !  
**

* * *

It started with a roar. A mighty, powerful roar coming from the east, slicing the air and the sky. So loud that the entire "town" seemed to shiver in fear. So shrill it was a miracle that their ears were still in one piece, that glass didn't scatter, that everyone was still standing straight. Then, the drums stopped, the dancing stopped, even the songs, that were so funky just a moment ago, stopped. A sepulchral silent fell, filling the air with an electric tension, everyone facing towards the east waiting… There muscles were tense, the sweat from the dance still running along their members, their breathing began to be twitchy, no one moved.

Suddenly, the sun disappeared: it was like a pitch black night just above their heads…at noon…. Yet no one screamed, no one moved, no one spoke. She felt like the only one panicking out there… even _him_ didn't flinch, like he knew what was happening. Her legs felt like jelly, almost as if all of her lower body completely disappeared with the sun. What was this feeling? It was primal, almost an instinct, she wanted to run, scream, get out of here as fast as she could, and yet she couldn't move. But she knew this ... She felt it before…Once actually: when she was on an island, and the black dread was diving from the sky. She was scared. She was petrified by fear.

He grabbed her hand, he knew she was terrified, he had to find a way to tell her everything will be find… But he was shacking, an incontrollable shaking… Damn! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! How was he supposed to comfort her if he wasn't even able to be ok himself? She was on the verge of crying, he knew, he could always tell. He had to be strong for her, right now! _Everything will be ok_ he muttered. She turned her head slightly, trying as hard as she could to not let her tears out, and nodded. Nothing could go wrong right? He wasn't scared of anything! She knew, she believed him. So she squeezed his hand as a silent answer. But she was thankful he couldn't see her right now, if he saw how desperate she was at the moment, he would probably do something crazy …like… trying to burn down the stake they were tide to and go towards the…thing… in the sky…

Wind gusts blasted in the town as, finally, the habitants reacted. They dropped to their knees with an incomparable speed, stretching their arms and putting them on the ground before them as some sort of prayer stance. As the gusts became stronger and stronger, what started as a collective whisper became a loud synchronize singing. She was too afraid to look up, the wind hurting her eyes, she closed them as strongly as she could. Maybe it was all just a dream? If she closed her eyes harder, maybe she'll realize it and wake up already? But then she heard a big "boom" followed directly by, what seemed to be, a shockwave that travelled through the air throughout the entire "town" and some kind of… earthquake? Whatever landed was huge, like really huge. Shivers travelled her body again. She squeezed his hand even more now, anxious to open her eyes.

 **"Where is the food, humans ?!"**

The voice that rose was very deep and echoic somehow. But food? What did he mean by food? Soon curiosity took over her fear and she finally found a hint of courage to peek at the origin of the voice. Slowly she lifted her eyelids and froze immediately. How was this even possible? In front of her, around 200 meters away from them the creature was spreading its dark, dreadful wings. Its scales were black with a hint of red like if the dark scales were glowing. It was so big, almost as big as the stadium for the Grand Magic game, but mostly because its wings were fully open. Its mouth was fill with, what seemed to be, thousands of razor-sharp teeth, but what was truly terrifying were its eyes. They were so red, a red as vivid as blood, and, even though they lack pupils they were fill with desire… no not exactly… It was a longing look, a longing for blood, for food, for them….

"What is it? What do you see? I can't turn around!" He asked her.

The words were stuck in her throat, her mouth went dry in a second, she couldn't even cry anymore. Shock. Despair. Fear. All these feeling were swirling at the same time inside her. She wanted to throw up, to run, to disappear, to fight the creature, to flee as far as possible, to die, to live. It was confusing, she didn't even know herself what to do. She was just feeling like a child… lost in a sea of darkness… _We are going to die_ … that's the only coherent though she could formulate right now.

"A …dragon…"

She didn't know how the words left her mouth. She wasn't even squeezing his hand anymore. Everything around her turned dark, spinning, swallowing her. She could hear him talking to her, but none of his words made sense, it was like a distant conversation, a sound you could hear when crossing a street, a buzzing sound. She was terrified. Even terrified felt poor to describe how she felt. At this instant, to her, there was only two things: those vivid red eyes, and the 200 meters that separated those eyes and her. All of her strength vanished and she collapsed still tided to this stake with him.

He kept talking to her. _What are you saying? A dragon? That's impossible! Is it Acnologia ? OÏ answer me! Are you still there?_ But then he felt her dragging him down, she probably collapsed. Why wouldn't she answer him? Maybe she was scared… Damn even him was scared shitless but if that thing was really a dragon and they were the supposed "food" then they had to get out of here and NOW! So he screamed, he yelled her name, hoping she would react this time…

"Help me…."

Her voice was so low, her voice was trembling, her voice was broken.

"Help me…. Natsu…I can't… I can't… I'm… I can't move…I'm…I don't want this…I don't want to ... but ...I can't... I … please Natsu…Please…Help me…."

She didn't really mean what she said. Or yes she did… it was all messed up in her head. She just blurted out the first thing that came to her mind. But how could he save her? How could he save them? It was plainly impossible.

*- The day before - *

Lucy had the strangest dream ever, she was in some kind of tower guarded by an army of prince charming, that strangely resemble like a thousand Loke, and she wasn't allow to leave for whatever reasons. Then, out of the blue, came a reddish-pinkish dragon accompanied by a blue flying horse-thingy, wrecking everything in their path. Including the army of Loke and the tower where she was. Then, as she fell from her now destroyed tower, she was catch by the dragon who wanted fish in exchange for his, unneeded, service. Damn that was a strange dream she though while trying to open her eyes. Yawning, she managed to sit up straight in her bed, still half asleep, only to be greeted by a snoring sound coming from under her bed cover. Doubtfully she raised it to locate the source of the snoring…Only to find a naked Natsu and a curled up Happy besides her. She sighed. It was too early in the morning to scold these two but how could they still ignore her demands after all this time. It's simple: don't enter the room without being invited. She sighed again. There was nothing she could do about them after all.

All the same, this sight was somehow comforting. They didn't change at all despite this year where they left her alone. But everything was fine now, Fairy Tail was a guild again, everything back to normal… Even the sneaking into her apartment while she's asleep. Still… She prepared her fist to strike the idiots that were asleep in her bed, taking the right angle and… He grabbed her arm before her punch could make it to his face.

"Too slow Lucy! You ain't gonna get me with this kind of weak attack!" He smirked proud of himself. "Besides, isn't it a bit early for this? "He proceeded to yawn.

"Tssk" She hissed "Don't sneak in my apartment then!"

Natsu yawned again, rubbing his eyes to adjust to the light that was filtering through the window.

"Good morning Luce…" He said half asleep.

"Lushy …too early…" The blue cat muttered behind Natsu at the same time.

This made her smile.

"Good morning… NOW GET OUT OF MY BED!" She ordered as she pulled away the blanket.

"God I can't believe those two !"

She blurted out as she jumped onto a chair at the bar. Mirajane just smiled at her, and Lucy felt like she knew this smile it's the "Well you can't do anything about it can you ?" smile by Mirajane. And she was right.

"Anyways, Mira-chan do you have any good mission for me ? I have to pay up rent soon ! And my landlord is as strict as ever …."

"Hum…" She paused to think "Since we reopened recently we don't have a lot of job yet Lucy... But I may have something for you let me check !"

She disappeared like a flash, surely to search for the rare gem that will pay Lucy's rent. It would be nice to go on a job… It's been a year after all. She feared she was a bit rusty, but what she feared the more was that Natsu would be too enthusiastic and destroy everything. Ah! Natsu…she didn't even ask him if he wanted to go on a job. She pouted a little at the thought he might say no. But it couldn't be helped. The job available will most certainly be boring one, the kind of job he wasn't found of… She guessed he would prefer a hunting job or something where he could fight some big ass monster. Maybe if Mirajane gives her two requests she will choose the most thrilling one….

"Lu-chan !" A perky voice said behind her.

Levy appeared right after, getting a sit beside her, a book in her hand.

"Levy-chan ! How are you ?"

"Fine fine ! There's still a lot of paperwork to do about the guild tho !" She pointed out at what she had in her hands.

"eh ? Even now ? But master Makarov came back already !"

"Yeah but we never got to finish the paperwork bruuuuh…I'm so tired !"

"Cheer up Levy-chan !"

"Ah ! I almost forgot" She turned her head towards the blonde with stars in her eyes "After all this time you must have written tons and tons of chapters ! You MUST let me read them!"

Lucy laughed slightly.

"It's not like that… I mean.. I wrote a little but…"

"I wanna read it !" Levy interrupted her before she could finish her sentence.

She nodded. She could never tell no to Levy after all. She noticed the hall was louder than before, and as a chair passed by her head, she understood that, yet another fight took place in the hall of the guild. She could hear Gajeel and Natsu screaming at one another while Gray was stripping and throwing ice magic everywhere. Fire bursted same as iron in respond. Lucy and Levy sighed. Why Erza wasn't here when this kind of stuff happens?

"Those idiots…. They will never change…" Levy made the remark

"No…never" Lucy replied with a fainted smile.

That's when Mirajane reappeared behind the counter.

"Lucy I've got the perfect job for you ! It's made especially for a celestial mage isn't that great ?" She said while handing over the paper to Lucy.

"Woaw! Really Mira-chan? Thank you so much!"

"What is it?" Levy asked

The blonde looked on the piece of paper in her hand and started reading out loud

" _Help me unravel the secret of the mysterious Book of Time, an old book used by celestial mages a long time ago. Reward: 200 000 Jewels._ Well that's a lot of money for one book…" She couldn't believe her eyes

"Wow! So awesome! Levy want to come too ! decrypting a book is my specialty !"

"Levy you can't you have the paperwork to do remember?" Mirajane said softly

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Levy banged her head on the counter defeated.

Natsu appeared behind her shoulder

"Yo Luce ! You find a job ?"

She slightly turned her head towards him

"Yeah…But I don't think you wanna do this one… It's just about helping with a book…"

Natsu took a puzzled look _. Ah…I was right…_ She thought .

"Whatcha' talkin' about? A job is a job! And it's more fun when we are together no ?" He granted her a big smile like only him could do.

She giggled.

"Yeah you're right…Let's do this then!"

"ALRIGHT! I'M ALL FIRED UP!"

His word meant so little when he was at the window of the train, throwing up. Yeah… That too didn't change. Happy was patting Natsu back asking him if he was going to survive. Lucy wondered if this one-hour trip was going to be bearable. But Natsu have seen worse than just one hour of train rides so he should be ok. They just had to let him, metaphorically, die in his corner of the booth… he'll come back to life once the train stops.

"Ne Happy , can you tell me a story about when you two were training ?" She asked

The blue cat turned around, a big smile to his face.

"Aye !"

He proceeded to come near Lucy to tell her about the first days of training. Natsu and him had absolutely no plan whatsoever about where to go -strangely she wasn't surprise about this news- so they just decided to go straight forward ! _Yeah that DOES sounds like them._ Lucy told herself. Then there was that time where they encountered Gildartz, and he stayed with them a bit. They switched bag by mistake and Gildartz almost beat the living crap out of Natsu for getting his back. Then there was that time where they were lost on the mount Yakobe because they fell into a hole.

And there was that time when, they were in the desert without water so they drank some funny liquid coming from a cactus because Natsu sort of remember that it was drinkable and they ended up having hallucinations for the entire day. Happy kept going on about these little story, and all of them made her laugh somehow, they all were so… Natsu and Happy… But at the same time she felt this tiny pinch to her heart. Remembering how she felt when she read that note… so lonely… why would they even go without her. She understood actually but there was this part of her that still couldn't accept it. Weren't they a team?

Time flew so fast, and soon the train stopped to the city she couldn't even remember the name because it was too long and impossible to remember and pronounce. So she just called it "White city" because every single building was carved from a white stone typical from the city. It was a mining town if she remembered correctly.

"Alright let's go!" She said

"Bulp…wait…for me" Natsu was still under the weather so Happy had to carry him a bit before he could walk normally again.

"Why did we have to take the train ?"

"You don't expect me to walk from here to Magnolia I hope ?!" Of course he would, but just because of his transport sickness…

"By the way what's the mission about again Lucy ?" Happy asked

"Hum it's about some old book… I ask Crux about it but he couldn't tell me anything about it…which is extremely strange…Especially since it's a celestial magic book…" She was worried about this somehow.

"So …Lucy and me do all the work and Natsu stay asides 'cause he's too stupid anyways!"

"SAY WHAT?"

Lucy and Happy giggled as they watched Natsu trying to convince them that he wasn't THAT stupid. Well he wasn't stupid but he was surely dense. When they finally arrived, Lucy was surprised to see it was a library. How could a library pay so much for a book ? She pushed the door open.

"Hello is there someone here ?"

Silence answered her…followed by an avalanche of books. Or more like a tsunami… Three rows of bookshelf falling over as a cry for help emerged from the sea of books.

Natsu, Lucy and Happy rushed over the mountain of books just to find a tiny old hand grasping for help. Natsu grabbed the hand and shortly afterwards, a small character appeared. His head was round, and bald, but his moustache, his glorious wild moustache was truly majestic. But that was the only thing particular about this man… Other than that he was… normal ? Plain ? An old man basically.

"Phew ! Hopefully you were there young lads! Let me introduce myself, I am, Sir. Willix Xeno Xanar the Third of his name ! And I thank you for your assistance !"

"Erm… nice to meet you ! I'm Lucy, and this is Natsu and Happy. We are the mages of fairy tail, we came for your "Book of Time" ?"

The little old man peered at them intensely… Launching some hmmhmm now and then… Finally after a minute.

"Well this one looks stupid, I don't want him near my precious book" He said while pointing at Natsu.

"SAY WHAT OLD MAN ? YOU WANNA FIGHT ?!" He shouted while Happy was holding him back with his scarf.

"I don't trust you…You can clean the mess you made while entering the library" He said while pointing at the sea of books "The missy can touch the book, your hands look so delicate…."

She could feel a drop of sweat on the side of her head. He was the one that made all the books fall down so why did he blame them ? Well, Natsu didn't look quite happy with is sub-mission, but the blue cat dragged him to the books anyways before he could do any harm.

"So… why do you need help with that book ? And why is the reward so high if I may ask…I mean… It's a library here… I don't think the town city hall has this kind of money to spare…" Lucy started

"This library is an annexe to my mansion… I had too much books I had to put some in here actually."

"Eh ? Wow…that's….a lot of book then…." She said impressed.

"Anyways, my precious book is a very rare one ! It's almost 500 years old. Do you imagine how much I had to pay to get my hand on it ? DO YOU ?" As he asked he managed to get his face extremely close to Lucy's

"Hum… no I… I don't …Sir…." She replied a little bit embarrassed.

"ANYWAYS ! The thing is…The damn thing won't open."

"Eh ? What do you mean it won't open ? You can't open… A book ?" She asked puzzled.

"Yes indeed, indeed. It's like it's sealed by some kind of...well magic! So ! Your job is to destroy the seal so that I the marvellous Sir. Willix Xeno Xanar can lay my eyes upon this unique " _ouverage_ " " (means book)

Lucy sighed, she should have taken Levy with her! Levy would have crack the case in no time. But she couldn't let that news get her spirit down! It was her first mission since…forever so she was determined to complete it and collect successfully the reward!

She sat at a desk that was directly facing Natsu and Happy, so that she could feel less lonely…and check on them…. Because it was highly probable that Natsu was going to destroy something without even noticing it beforehand. She put on her magical glasses and started to work on the book.

It was now almost 19:00 the sun was almost down and Natsu didn't even finish to tidy up the book. He was so bored ! The old man was always behind his back, he couldn't even go tease Luce! Speaking of the devil, he heard her scream.

"No ! no ! no ! no!" She complained while agitating her arms in all the directions.

"YO LUCE! Having fun ?"

She turned her head towards him, almost crying.

"I can't crack that thing… There is absolutely no clue whatsoever about how to solve this puzzle!"

"Lemme see ! Maybe I can find something!" He said while taking the book in his hand

"NO YOU FOOL" She snatched it back "With your delicacy you'll tear it apart…or WORST burn it!"

"Not nice Luce!"

She sighed. Natsu came by her side, resting his head on her shoulder

"So sleepy…so hungry….."

"Hey! We are on a job!" She said, blushing a little…

"Easy for you to say…you didn't have to order ten thousand books…"

She sighed again. Boy did she sighed today. She sighed while getting out of bed, she sighed while getting to the guild, she sighed because she couldn't figure out this book. It wasn't as fun as expected after all. She removed her glasses, obviously there was nothing to be done for today…Maybe tomorrow she'll have more luck with this book. She wanted to stretch her arm but a certain dragon slayer was still on it. That's when she noticed the little girl in front of her. She was so tiny, she must have been no more than seven years old. She wore a white dress and had beautiful raven curled hair. She was insistently looking at her and Natsu, and it kind of made Lucy blush even more.

"Hi there! Are you lost sweetie?" Lucy asked.

The little girl made a little no with her head.

"Come here." She said while inciting her to come closer with her hand.

The little girl looked at Natsu with a somewhat worried look. That made Lucy puffed a little bit.

"Don't worry he won't bite you."

"I won't bite who?" He said, suddenly interested by what was going on.

Lucy pointed to the child in front of them, and Natsu made a slight "oh". Still a bit worried, the little girl came closer to them.

"Hi, I'm Lucy, and this is Natsu…What's your name?"

"….."

"You 're not the talking type aren't ya ?" Asked Natsu

"….. Moerae…." The little kid said timidly.

" So where are your parents Moerae ?"

"Can you help me ?" The child asked

"Eh ? Of course sweetheart, whatever you want, we are specialist at helping people " Lucy replied while pointing at Natsu and her.

Moerae look at her, then at Natsu…Then at Lucy again… It looked like she was thinking about whether or not she should talk to them. Finally, she spoke again.

"Can you help me find it ? I lost it"

"Find it? Find what? You lost what ?" Natsu asked, puzzled.

"Can you help me Onii-chan,Onee-chan ? "

Without even consulting one another they both accept at the same time.

"It's a pact then! Help me Onii-chan,Onee-chan"

The air began to be fill with a strange tension, as if a lot of magic power was gathering above their head. What a strange feeling, the air was thick, just like before a storm. Lucy never felt it coming, Natsu was the one with quicker reflexes, the one with sharpened senses.

"LUCY , BE CAREFUL !" He said jumping on her, as if it was an instinct, to protect her as the lightning stroke. Was it really a lightning though? It was more like a flash of bright light. A sudden flash that filled the space around them. A blinding light. When it was over, Natsu and Lucy had disappeared into thin air, the only proof of their presence were the glasses on the desk and an open book.

* * *

 **Phew ! So this was the first chapter, the second should be coming soon. I hope you liked my ... strange writting style should I say ? And please feel free to leave your reviews :)  
**


	2. Chapter 2 - Why ?

**Author's Note : Hi everyone ! So here's the second chapter, where you get a little bit of information about what is going on … I have to admit, the first chapter didn't explain what is happening but that's how I wanted my story to be :) So enjoy !**

 **Disclaimer: Mashima-sensei owns fairy tail.**

* * *

The world turned white, a spinning white, a blinding white, an oppressive white, a breathtaking white. It lasted for a heartbeat , then , she felt the sickening feeling of falling : no more white, just a blend of blurred different colours and shapes. She could feel her stomach protesting, so close to letting go of her lunch when she , well, they actually, hit the ground. She didn't know how Natsu managed to go beneath her to absorb the initial impact , but he did. The initial shock was then followed by a series of rolls, the world was spinning again: up, down, up , down, up,down… _stop please_ … Natsu tightened his grip as they slowed down until they finally stop their crazy race.

It took her a moment to notice that they were motionlessness, but once the information got to her brain, she sighed in relief. Her whole body was hurting her and it was difficult to breathe. But that was maybe because something, or someone, was on top of her, someone who is heavy and hot. She tried to move but she was too weak , confused, and… she couldn't breathe ? As if the oxygen in the air was missing. A moan rose from above her.

"Luce, are you ok ?" Natsu asked.

Well, at least the flame brain sounded ok , good for him.

"Hum no, you're crushing me!"

"Sorry ." He said while rolling to the right to free her from his restraint.

She exhaled and inhaled heavily, finally able to breathe. But the air still felt strange, as if something was missing… something important…She straightened up. She was feeling dizzy, she could taste her stomach contents at the back of her mouth, a very unpleasant sensation she tried to suppress. Why was breathing so hard? She inhaled, and exhaled slowly… _Inhale…Exhale…Inhale…Exhale…Good Lucy…now keep doing this…._ She turned her head towards Natsu, he didn't look so good himself. So it wasn't just her? Feeling slightly better, she proceeded to look around her: they were in what seemed to be a clearing, she could hear a stream of water flowing nearby although she couldn't actually see it. She smelled moss and fresh grass, a hint of pine maybe? And what stroke her as lilac and gooseberries. It was dark, though, the sky was clear and the star were so bright and the moon was almost full. A small breeze was blowing…. _Chilly…_ She thought while rubbing her arms with both of her hands.

"What happened? Where are we?" She asked out loud, more to herself than to Natsu actually.

"I don't know…" He said while still laying down. He had exactly the same face he had on the train this morning. He must have felt really bad she told herself "I remember feeling something powerful…and… dangerous coming towards us back there…"

She titled her head in his direction.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know. I just felt it that's all."

She pursed up her lips. She had absolutely no idea about what he was talking about, it just felt like one instant ago they were at the library with the little raven-curled-hair girl… Moerae was it? And then Natsu jumped on her, telling her to be careful… There was a flash of light…And next thing she knew they ended up here, doing some kind of barrel roll while she was having a hard time to breath. Ah ! There it was again, the dizziness. She decided not to try to fight it and just laid down once again. The night sky was really beautiful. She didn't know where they ended up, but it was a beautiful place so it shouldn't be that bad right? Well … exempting that everything around her seemed to spin faster than one would expect. At least the stars weren't moving, so she got that going for her, which is nice.

"I wonder where we are…" She whispered to the almost dying Natsu

"It must…be…hell… a train or….a boat or… BULP"

"Ew… Hang in there Natsu…." The sound of him trying not to puke was very displeasing right now since she felt like throwing up herself.

She just tried to ignored it for now and focused on the sky. Once she would feel better, she will snoop around and try to figure out what happened. Well, according to the information she had right now, the only thing she could say was that the white flash must have been some sort of teleportation spell? Maybe something else? She stared into the darkness of the night, watching the stars. When was the last time that she actually stopped to watch the stars? She couldn't even remember… All those shiny points reminded her of diamonds, yes, little diamond all across the sky. But something was off. She frowned. Something felt wrong…very wrong in what she was watching… Something didn't match…What was it? The sky was the same after all so why did this bother her more than it should…

"Ok, I'm up now !" Natsu exclaimed as he jumped up to his feet.

He turned around to Lucy and extended his hand to help her on her feet. The help was much appreciated, as she grabbed his hand his pulled her up, with a little bit too much strength as she crashed onto his chest.

"Ha Ha Ha ! I don't know what that was all about but it feels like the good ol' times!" He said with a big smile on his face before bursting into laughter.

She was about to join his stupid laugh when it all came back to her, like a flash: the terrible handwritten words, the solitude, the empty rooms… _I'll be back after about a year_. She brushed away the sad thought and broke free from Natsu's contact.

"Anyways we have to understand what happened and where we…"

Natsu stopped her mid sentence

"Someone is here… No a lot of someones…"

"Hu ? Then maybe we should get away… Hide somewhere ?"

"We can't… We are surrounded …"

Lucy looked puzzled, not that she didn't believe what Natsu said, just that she didn't understand why would a lot of someones surround the two of them.

"I'm fired up!"

"Please… could you not ?" She sighed

Natsu just proceeded to ignore Lucy comment and entered a battle stance, his legs apart, his fist ready, all he has to do was to ignite the flame of his hand…

"He ? What the fuck ?"

"What?" Asked Lucy

"I can't use my magic…"

"WHAT ? Stop joking around Natsu, it's DEFINITELY not the moment!"

"I'm not joking I CAN'T FUCKING USE MY MAGIC ! LOOK !"

He waved his hand in front of her, and the only flame he could produce was actually a little spark that disappeared just as quickly as it appeared, in a little "swoosh".

"DUDE YOU JUST SAID YOU WERE FIRED UP!" She could feel a drop of sweat running through her temple along her cheek "SO FIRE IT UP ALREADY!"

"WHY ARE YOU YELLING ?"

"BECAUSE YOU STARTED IT!"

She sighed, it was definitely not the moment to be dorks… not that there was actually a moment where they could be dorks but not now. Her train of thoughts was stopped right away when she felt a light breeze brushing over her skin. The air was chilly and smell like lilac and gooseberries…and a hint of something sweet like… maple syrup maybe? What a strange smell.

His senses were quivering, his muscles were tensed, all he could do was listen at this moment. Moving slightly , turning his head left, then right. They had to be silent.

"My radar is on fire." He muttered to Lucy

Lucy didn't know why but she giggled at that sentence, maybe because he couldn't , ironically, actually be on fire for once ?

He never heard it. He never felt the air being ripped apart. Never saw it. Never anticipated it. It happened in what felt like an eternity: everything turned to red…A bright, colourful, crimson red. It's almost funny, because, at this instant, all he could think of was how red was his favourite colour. It was maybe because he was a mage that used fire or just because it was kind of a warm tint? But somehow he never really thought red would suit Lucy. Royal blue and white, these were always the best colours on her. It contrasted her golden hair and, somehow, made her precious skin glow… Not that he was an expert on that kind of stuff but he was pretty damn convinced that red would never ever suit her….

Then why was she overflowing with red ? Why did she wear it ? Wait… she was wearing a blue top today…so… it wasn't her outfit … Then.. what the … ? His eyes met hers for a split second. They were wide open and filled with emotions…Pain, surprise, incomprehension, crying for help. That's when he felt something hot on his cheek. It smelled like iron, like Lucy. He already smelled that scent before, it was during the Grand Magic Tournament, on a fateful day where he jumped to catch a black arrow that flew through the air before landing on his friend chest, filling the room with dark red blood. _Never again_ he swore to himself on that day… He will NEVER be too slow again. He would catch every arrow coming her way, every attack meant to hurt her or anyone he cared about… _But especially her._

Then …why was she overflowing with red ? Why did she wear it ? Why did her gaze was filled with fear ? Why could he smell the iron in her blood ? Why wasn't he still strong enough ? Why ? Why ? Why ? WHY ?

He reached out for her as she was collapsing, gently putting his hand behind her neck, distress in his voice.

"Luce .. Fuck Lucy ..No…what…"

His free hand was right above the , now, gaping hole that pierced her stomach. What could he do ? What should he do ? How could he do it ?

"Luce ! Luce! LOOK AT ME LUCE!" He said, while panic started to flood his voice, his eyes were watery as he watches the grimace of pain that crossed her face "Please Luce… Tell me what to do… Oh god, Luce please don't close your eyes stay with me Ok ?"

"Natsu…"Her voice was distorted by pain, it was faint, fragile, shaky."Be…behind you…"

What ? Before he could move, he felt a sharp blow on his neck, making him collapse. While his vision blurred away all he could see was the red over Lucy's body.

The night just fell on Magnolia, and the guild members were exhausted by the work of the day. Still it nothing felt like home than the newly rebuilt guild hall, it was so comforting to go back to normality after one year of uncertainty. Everyone would eat here tonight , at the expense of poor Levy and her pile of work. She could hear the laughter and the jingling of the beers chops, the indistinct chatters in the background made a sweet melody, though. A melody she had missed truth to be told, and secretly wished she never had to miss it again. A plate full of food slid in front of her

"Don't overdo it ok Levy ?" Mirajane said a warm smile on her face

"Thank you Mira-chan ! Don't worry I won't"

"But you've been on this paperwork since forever… I'm a bit concerned." She then looked behind Levy. "Oh ! Hi Loke ! Long time no see !"

Levy turned around, it was indeed a long time since she last saw Loke, her comrade being with Lucy for one year. She could notice the concerned look on his face even in the distance. He was looking around the guild with an expression that seems to be … panic ? Levy left her chair to meet him.

"Hello, Loke-chan! How are you ?" She asked cheerfully.

"WHERE IS LUCY ?" He yelled, panicked.

Silent fell in the guild hall, everyone stopped whatever they were doing at this very instant. Was it because of the alert in his voice ? Or maybe just because he yelled so loudly that every other sound was suppressed right away ?

"What do you mean where is Lucy ? " Grey enquired "Isn't she with Natsu on some mission ? Besides aren't ya supposed to know where she's since you're her spirit ?"

"She disappeared ! " Loke said, his voice breaking down, same as his knees.

Erza moved towards him, helping him back to his feet.

"Loke, calm down and.." She started

"SHE DISAPPEARED ! HOW THE FUCKING HELL AM I SUPPOSE TO STAY CALM ?"

At this moment Levy couldn't help but think that she definitely never would have believed that someone had the guts to stop Erza mid-sentence. Maybe she wasn't the only one having this thought ? Everyone carefully made a step back from Erza at that moment, fearing her fury. But she didn't burst into rage, on the contrary, she softened her voice.

"Loke, calm down" She proceeded to start again " I don't know what is happening and if you are not making any sense while talking we won't be able to understand it either. So sit down and explain. Or I'll make you sit." She added with a small smile.

Loke looked at her and faintly nodded. They both sat on a close bench and everyone gathered around them.

"She was there " He started with a trembling voice" and the next second I couldn't feel her magic power at all ! She just disappeared OUT OF NOWHERE !"

"What do you mean you couldn't feel her magic power ? Can you tell us exactly what happened ?" Asked Levy as she sat beside him, putting a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to calm him, or at least, appease him a bit.

"I… I don't exactly know what happened. But… as usual…We kept an eye on Lucy's magical power, just in case something unexpected happens. You know… That's how horologium can sense if she's in a dire situation….anyways… Everything was as usual… I think she was near Natsu and Happy… And all of the sudden there was some kind of… Magic burst…Like an explosion or a big flash… A spike of magic around them…It was incredible… I mean… It lasted less than a second but I've never felt something this powerful before… And next thing I know I couldn't sense Lucy… Or Natsu… It's like they completely disappeared into thin air. And I don't understand! If Lucy's life was in danger Horologium would have acted but he didn't! No one understood what happened it was so fast and… FUCK ! FUCK FUCK FUCK ! Lucy… She….I don't understand … I…."

Realisation hit. And it hit hard. A pregnant silent filled the room. The atmosphere became heavy. Finally, Erza broke it.

"Mira?"

"Yes ?" The white haired lady answered.

"Do you know where Natsu and Lucy went on this mission ?"

"Hum" She paused to think a bit,"I think she called it the "White City" … not the actual name though If I remember correctly"

"I can take you there!" Loke offered" It'll be faster if we use the spirit world… But two people max would be faster"

"I'll come !" Levy exclaimed to everyone surprise.

"So will I." Added Erza.

…

Using the spirit world sure was fast Levy thought to herself, but Loke could have made sure she didn't land on her knees. A small "ouch" escape her mouth as she struggled to stand up again. The room was dark, only a small candle was lit on a table across it. But she gasped in wonder when her eyes met the mountains of books in front of her. Was this heaven? Books everywhere the eye could see. A familiar voice woke her from her daydreaming.

"NATSU! LUCY! WHERE ARE YOU ?" Happy voice echoed inside the library.

"Happy ? Are you there ?" Erza answered.

A few moments later, the blue exceed appeared from behind the shelf.

"Erza ! Levy ! Loke!" He said "When did you arrive ?"

"Just now" Started Erza "We came because Loke told us something might have happened to Lucy and Natsu".

The blue cat look at his friend puzzled.

"I can't find Natsu and Lucy… Maybe they are playing Hide and Seek… You didn't have to come , I'm sure it's just a joke!"

"Still… Happy when was the last time you saw them ?"

"HMMMMM" He then proceeded to flew where the candle was "Natsu and Lucy were reading this book"

Levy approached the desk. You could , indeed, see an open book and, right next to it, Lucy reading glasses. She picked up the object that lied in front of her: she could read "The book of Time" on its cover. So Lucy managed to accomplish her mission, that made her smile, and kinda jealous of her friend. She opened it again and proceeded to skimmed through it. What the heck ? The book was empty, only blank pages. If she remembered correctly, it was a sealed book. Why would anyone place a seal on an empty book ?

"Are you looking ofr Onii-chan and Onee-chan ?"

The high pitched voice almost made Levy jump in fear: it was just a little girl, maybe around ten years old? She had a white dress and curly dark hair. How did she not notice her beforehand ?

"Hello there!" Levy said a big smile on her face while approaching the little girl "Onii-chan and Onee-chan ? Are you talking about Natsu and Lucy ? Have you seen them ? "

The little girl nodded.

"Moerae asked for help… Onii-chan and Onee-chan agreed …"

"Levy ? Who are you talking to…?" Erza asked while going near them "Oh! Hello there little one."

"Hello Onee-chan!" She said smilling. "You are beautiful ! You look like sunset!"

"Hu..? Thank" Erza said blushing

"But the other onee-chan is beautiful too! She reminds me of Anna. She has golden hair." She added while giggling

"Oh ? You know Lucy ?" Asked Erza while kneeling next to the little girl

"Yeah she said Natsu and Lucy agreed to help her." Added Levy

"Hey guys have you found anything yet ?" Loke enquired.

Loke joined their little party, closely followed by Happy. But then… He froze as he saw the little girl.

"No way… But… How… You are…you were…" His voice trembling once again.

The golden eyes of the little girl opened wide with wonder as she ran towards Loke, jumping on his leg. Well, it looked like she was aiming at is neck but she was too small to accomplish such a fee.

"Leo ni-sama!" She yelled, tears appearing at the corner of her eyes "Leo ni-sama! Leo ni-sama! Moerae is so happy to see you again !"

Interrogation points seemed to appear above the head of the two girls, but Loke…just froze. He stayed silent for a moment, Levy could see he was as confused as they were. But he then hugged back the little girl, tears flowing along his cheeks.

"Momo…we thought…We thought you died 400 years ago… How ? How are you ? How did you … "

"Anna protected me Leo ni-sama" She pointed at the book "I was safe in there" She added with a bright smile.

Loke broke their embrace to wipe away his tears.

"This is Moerae, she was… no … She is a spirit. But a few centuries ago she disappeared. So we just assumed she…" He couldn't say the word but it was pretty obvious.

"Nice to meet you Moerae-chan . I'm Levy and this is Erza. We are friend of Lucy and Natsu. So you are a spirit he ?"

"Yes !" Said the little girl, with proud in her voice "I am the spirit of time and space! Pretty cool he ?"

"I'm Happy! Nice to meet you".

"Wow, you can fly ! Moerae wish she could too…"

But then it clicked inside of Loke's head, grabbing the little spirit shoulder.

"Momo you said you saw Lucy and Natsu right ?"

"Yep ! Onii-chan and Onee-chan were pretty cool! They said they would help me, they are the first one in centuries to agree !" She said while jumping up and down from excitement.

"Momo… What did they need to help you with… Exactly ?" Loke gave her a serious look that was almost threatening.

"Hum…hu…I lost something… So… hum… I send them to bring it back ?"

"And where did you sent them Momo ?" He asked, fearing the answer.

"SOMEWHERE!" She answered happily "Somewhere right after I lost it… hum… Right after Anna protected me in the book I think."

"YOU SEND THEM IN THE PAST ?" Loke yelled in stupor

The little girl raised her head towards the leader of the zodiac. He seemed panicked and frustrated at the same time… It was scary. She curled up right away, hiding her face.

"Leo nii-sama you are angry at Moerae ?" She asked, on the verge of tears

"What…eh…"

Loke was embarrassed, he completely forgot about the childish personality of this spirit, and he just frightened her. Well it's not that she's childish, she was just a child indeed. In that state, she would never ever answer to their question. But more importantly, he felt the death-frightening glare that Levy just sent him. The bluenette could be really scary when she wanted to. Just like Erza. She proceeded to walk towards the little girl, kneeling beside her. She put a hand on her hair, trying to comfort her.

"Ne Moerae-chan, it's alright, Loke didn't meant to frighten you." She told her with a little smile on her face

The little girl raised her head, tears on her eyes. She nodded. _Leo nii-sama is a good person he didn't meant do frighten you…cheer up !_ She thought to herself.

"So Moerae-chan, can you tell me what you did to Lu-chan and Natsu-kun ?"

Moerae looked at Levy. She had such a baby face, and she was so tiny compared to all the other people she ever met. She looked nice, though. And she had beautiful blue hair. Moerae liked it.

"Onii-chan and Onee-chan promised they would help Moerae…"

"Help you with what Moerae-chan ?" Levy asked softly.

"hu…" She gave a look towards Loke, worried that he would get angry again

"Don't worry Moerae-chan" Said Erza"I won't let him hurt you"

"Hu… Moerae doesn't know…" she admitted shamefully.

"What do you mean you don't know ?" Asked again Levy

"Moerae doesn't remember… I know I lost something… But … I can't remember… Anna told me this would happen, that it was for my safety… Anna said she would give it back to me once It was safe but… But … it's been so long… I waited so long in the book .. I…" She broke into tears.

Levy took her in her arms. The poor little girl was trap inside a dark place for centuries, of course that she would be vulnerable right now. But… If she couldn't remember why she sent Natsu and Lucy in the past… How were they supposed to help her ? And most of all… How are they going to come back ?

* * *

 **Well that took much longer than I expected for some reasons... Also I'd like to apologize for the delay, however, I can't be constant between my uploads because of my studies. I'll try to post at least one chapter per months but I can't promise you anythings. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed it :) Don't hesitate to review ^-^ Until next time !**


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